Today my book, A Culture of Communication, is available.
I wrote it about something I have watched matter for more than fifteen years in K–12 education: the trust between the people in a school or district, and the ordinary communication that builds it or wears it down.
The idea at the center is simple. Trust works like an account. Every clear message, every returned call, and every honest answer on a hard day is a small deposit. Every broken promise and every message no one understands is a withdrawal. Each change is small, and over time those small moments add up to whether people can count on one another. That is the trust account, and it is being built or spent in every message that goes out, all day, across a district.
The book is written for everyone in K–12, from the classroom to the board office. It turns that one idea into six practical chapters: writing so people understand the first time, listening in a way people can feel, staying in steady contact, telling the story behind the facts, reaching every family, and responding well when the news is hard. Each chapter rests on solid research, and each ends with one thing you can do the same day.
Over the past weeks I have shared each chapter here, along with a set of one-page tools to use alongside them. The book gathers all of it in one place.
The people who do this work already care about doing it well. I wrote this to support them, one message at a time. If that is the work you are in, wherever your desk sits, I hope it helps.
A Culture of Communication: Building a Trust Account in K–12 Education is available now.
Building a Trust Account in K–12 Education, available now.